Table-tennis.



PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904-.

J. H. RIGAU. TABLE TENNIS.

APPLIOATION IILBD JULY 9, 1903.

F0 MODEL.

Wflhesseis'.

- are bound with small rope or wire.

Patented March 99, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. RICAU, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

TABLE-TENNIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,936, dated March 29, 1904:.

Application filed July 9, 1903. Serial No. 164,829. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES H. 131mm, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Table-Tennis, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to table-tennis; and the object is to provide a new and improved game apparatus simple and durable in construction and arranged to require considerable skill on the part of the players to successfully play the game at its best.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a view in elevation of my improved form of net in position, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a detail.

The game apparatus illustrated consists of stakes or posts A, attached by suitable clamps a or other fastening means to the sides of a table B, and between such stakes is suspended the net C. The table should have its surface in a horizontal plane, and such surface should preferably be about eight feet in length and about five feet in width. The stakes are applied to the sides of the table to extend vertically upward therefrom midway of the length of the table, and the net is held suspended in a vertical plane between the two stakes, the net being secured to the stakes at its corners. The net is formed of cords which cross each other at right angles, preferably, to form diamond-shaped meshes, and the edges of the net The net is of such length that it may extend substantially across the table and is of such width that its upper edgewhen suspended is about seven inches above the surface of the table and its lower edge about an inch above the table-surface. The meshes of the net are cut away at three points to form enlarged openings C, G, and C each about two inches square, the opening 0 being formed in the center of the net and the openings C and C being formed on a horizontal line passing through the center of the net and midway between the central opening and the end of the net, and the edges of the net surrounding each opening are bound with .wire or heavy cord 6. Two small rods or posts 0? are secured to the net, one on each side of the central opening. These rods are attached to the upper and lower binding-cords at the edges of the net and serve to hold the net expanded to its full width at its center. The rods project above the upper edge of the net about three and one-half inches and hold a cup-net D suspended between their projecting ends. Preferably the cup-net D is suspended from a wire ring d, which is attached to the upper ends of'the rods d. The ring is substantially two and one-half inches in diameter, and the depth of the cup-net is approximately two inches. Said cup net or receptacle is thus held with its mouth open in a horizontal plane, so that it may receive the ball served from either side of said net. It is to be understood, however, that the dimensions of the different parts of my game apparatus as above given may be departed from or varied, as occasion may require or choice dictate.

The game of table-tennis as played with my net follows the rules of ordinary table-tennis, except that the ball if served after one bounce into the cup net counts ten points for the server, and if the ball is served through any one of the openings in the net it counts five points for the server, and the game cannot be won by either player unless such player has served the ball into the cup or through one of the openings in the net.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a tennis-game apparatus, in combination'with a support providing a playing-surface, of a net and means to hold the same in a vertical plane extending across such surface, the said net being provided with diamond-shaped openings of a size to permit the passage therethrough of the playing-ball, and a receptacle arranged to hold the ball held above the upper edge of the net, said receptacle being arranged to receive the ball served from either side of the net.

2. The combination in a tennis-game apparatus, of asupport forminga playing-surface, with a net, means for supporting the net to divide the playing-surface into fields, the said net being provided with openings of a size to permit the passage therethrough of the playing-ball, a receptacle, and means for holding said receptacle above the upper edge of the net with its mouth open in a horizontal plane so that it may receive the ball served from either side of said net.

3. The combination in a tennis-game apparatus, of a support providing a playing-field, with a net, means for holding the net suspended in a vertical plane extending across said field, rods secured adjacent the center of the net to hold the same expanded, the said rods projecting above the upper edge of the net, and a receptacle for the ball suspended between the upper projecting ends of said rods.

4. The combination in a tennis-game apparatus, of a support providing a playing-field, with a net, means for holding the net suspended in a vertical plane extending across said field, the said net being provided with openings of asize to permitthe passage therethrough of the playing-ball, rods secured to the net adjacent its center and projecting above the upper edge thereof, and a receptacle for the ball suspended between the upper projecting ends of said rods.

5. In a tennis-game apparatus, a net provided with diamond-shaped openings of a size to permit the passage therethrough of the playing-ball, means for holding the net suspended in a vertical plane, rods secured to the upper and lower edges of the net adjacent its center and projecting above the upper edge of the same, a ring secured to the upper ends of said rods, and a cup-net attached to such ring substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. RICAU.

Witnesses:

H. S. GIDIIJRE, Gus. J. RICAU. 

